2006 Ford Freestar. While we were on the road the electrical system failed but the engine kept running. No radio, no lights, no a/c, no ABS, no nothing – but were able to keep on driving. When I tried to turn on the fan or the a/c, the car hesitated as though the power was being interrupted. After 10-15 minutes of driving, everything seemed to return to normal. It starts and seems to run normally now, but we are hesitant to take it out on the road. Anybody have any idea what might be going on?
I would suspect a poor connection in the fuse box or the ignition switch.
I would check the battery connections and grounds and clean them all. F64 or F67 in bussed Electrical center
Checked cables, ground points and buss box as advised and all seemed to be OK. Took it for a test run again and after one mile was surprised to see the words ‘LOW BATTERY’ flash on the digital radio dial (never saw that before and there was nothing in the owner’s manual about it). Charged the battery but still had the same symptoms. Next day drove it to our repair shop 8 miles away and car went completely dead 100 yards before I got there but managed to coast right into his parking lot! He determined it was a bad alternator, replaced it, and it’s all fine now.
I really want to thank circuitsmith and kfenimore for the suggestions. Maybe the problem wasn’t exactly solved, but they sure kept my anxiety level down. Thanks folks!